Modeling Optical Turbulence and Seeing over Mauna Kea: Verification and Algorithm Refinement*

Abstract

Abstract An optical turbulence algorithm has been running operationally since April 2005 at the Mauna Kea Weather Center. The algorithm makes use of information on turbulence kinetic energy provided by a planetary boundary layer scheme available in the Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model and estimates the turbulent fluctuations of the atmospheric refractive index and seeing over the summit area of Mauna Kea. To investigate the potential and limitations of the optical turbulence algorithm, one year of observed seeing data from four observatories is compared with the model forecast seeing and a statistical analysis is carried out. Sensitivity tests regarding the accuracy of the underlying numerical weather forecasts and the model’s eddy diffusivity scheme are performed. Results from a simple calibration of the optical turbulence algorithm are presented.